College World Series history

Welcome to the College World Series historical database, brought to you by Omaha.com and the Omaha World-Herald. This page is our growing home for historical information about past NCAA baseball championships, which have been played in Omaha since 1950.

You can read historical information for each year of the CWS, dating to 1947. We also created a history page for every school that has played in the CWS. Click a banner on the main page or select a team or year from these dropdown menus.

1951 College World Series

Participating teams

Underdogs take over

Front page (click to expand)

Series highlights

The 1951 College World Series revealed that California and Texas were not the only states where championship talent resides.

After California, Texas and Southern California had won the first three championships, many assumed that the Trojans and Texas A&M would meet in the title game. But both teams were sent home before either could have a chance to compete for the championship.

Springfield and Utah surprised many in Omaha with their performances. Springfield upset Texas A&M in their opening game 5-1 and Utah defeated Tennessee 7-1. Utah later eliminated Texas A&M 15-8.

Oklahoma won their first national championship after cruising through the series with a 4-0 record, including a 3-2 victory over the Volunteers in the championship game.

Most Outstanding Player

Sidney Hatfield, Tennessee

Hatfield pitched a shutout against Springfield (Mass.), and pitched seven innings in the finale against Oklahoma before the Vols fell 3-2.

Series notes

Note: All-Tournament team selections were not handed out prior to the 1958 College World Series.